Speaker
Description
Nuclear fusion is a promising candidate for a new sustainable energy source. The fuel in most fusion power plants is a mixture of 50% deuterium and 50% tritium. Inside this mixture, a chemical exchange reaction between the isotopologues occurs. This reaction alters the mixture’s composition and by that alters its viscosity. Since this influences the gas’s flow behaviour in the fuel cycle of fusion power plants, it is important to investigate this reaction. With the Cryo-ViMA experiment, the viscosity of hydrogen isotopologues and their mixtures is measured using a Spinning Rotor Gauge. This may be sensitive to the reaction-induced viscosity change in hydrogen isotopologue mixtures, allowing for the observation of the exchange reaction. Recently, proof-of-principle measurements have been conducted to test this hypothesis. The current poster will present the theoretical motivation, the experimental procedure and first measurement results.